25 Examples of Super Creative Resume Design

In today’s job market, it sometimes takes a little extra ingenuity to get noticed. We’ve heard of people printing their resume on florescent paper, sending baked goods along with a cover letter, even buying online ads or renting billboards to promote themselves. While we don’t always recommend such extreme approaches (read up on Aleksey Vayner’s “Nothing is Impossible” video resume to see why), we have to admire the creativity of these 25 resume designs:

Susan Johnston is a freelance writer/blogger who has contributed to publications including The Boston Globe, Mint.com’s blog, WomenEntrepreneur.com, and Yahoo! HotJobs. Her own blog, UrbanMuseWriter.com, covers tips on productivity, brainstorming, and more for fellow writers.

I agree the Flyer design is my favorite as well. Some of these break some of the cardinal rules of resume design which could potentially piss off employers. The fabric one for example might be obnoxious to scan. Large background images would also require a lot of toner as well and could make an employer think twice about photocopying a resume and passing it along. Also I would never hire someone who would even think to use papyrus as a type face for a magazine title. It would’ve been nice for an analysis of each resume, nice collection otherwise.

I also agree with Chris Gummer, I liked both resume styles. these are really unique and abstract designs.

Kyle on the 30th January

So, I was researching these sites for creative resumes. I found this site OrangeResume.com they make creative resumes for you. The thing is I am trying to get a job as a postal worker, do you thing resumes like these can be too much for a government job?

Grant Newton on the 7th July

This article was okay….but I like what Business Insider had to say on this topic.

Doing something unexpected with your resume can have a big pay-off or it could backfire depending on the person. I think it really depends on the job and the company. (Uber-creative ad agency? It could fly. Accounting job at a more conservative company? Probably not.)

I loved them. But I do worry they might get a “that guy’s too crazy and out there” response from a recruiter. I guess it all depends on whether the hiring manager is looking for creative brilliance or just a “safe” hire.

Great round-up. I’ve been meaning to re-design my resume for awhile now. Some good ideas here to get me started. Thanks.

ChrisHerself on the 30th November

It’s not nit picky at all. Papyrus is a horridly inappropriately- and overly-used font, and using it on a graphics resume pretty much screams “DO NOT HIRE THIS TACKY AMATEUR!” The only worse offense would be Comic Sans.

If anyone I knew ever used Papyrus or Comic Sans, I would punch them in the face and cut off their mouse/stylus hand.

Nyssa on the 28th July

Yeah, I would never hire the guy with the Papyrus font as a magazine editor. The actual information is sparse, the text is riddled with errors and inconsistencies that any editor worth his or her salt would never have typed (let alone pass into print), and the magazine cover itself is tacky and ill designed.

Basically, if you’re trying to break into an industry, learn a little bit of the industry standards first.

These are really beautiful examples of how to stand out and attract attention. As a résumé writer, I would caution that, as the writer pointed out, you should know your audience before sending something so “different.” I just had a client veto a simple, slightly gray text box on a design, so many people like plain and simple.

Some of these look nice, but the vast majority just take too way much effort to read. Talk to any serious employer, and they’ll tell you that your portfolio should be what showcases your design ability – they’re only looking at resumes to get a fast and easy rundown of your experience and skillset. Unfortunately, most employers would look at these and toss them aside because the information they’re really looking for just isn’t very clear.

I’m not saying a resume shouldn’t be well-designed and attractive, but they should be designed around simplicity and readability, not crazy graphic overload. Save the wild creativity for the proper job that calls for it – and keep the resume simple and easy.

The only issue with some of these is that you have to actually apply in person or by hand and can’t really have it as a download on your site. It must be presented as you want and also must have an alternative version to download maybe. However, it’s nice to have something creative that stands out.

I’ve been doing freelance for some time and recently opted for a more stable job as an in-house designer for a corporation. A few months after I was hired, my boss was nice enough to include me in the hiring of a second employee. So from that perspective, these are my thoughts:

First of all, yes, a designer’s resume very much needs to be unique and creative and more than anything else, tailored to its recipient. Because of that, a lot of these are really great ideas! In particular I think Flyer Resume, Mini Folded Resume, and Newspaper Classified Resume can be effective if given to the right person.

The main problem I see recurring though is that sometimes the creativity is inadvertently delivering the wrong message. For example, on Infographic Resume, one of the messages I take away is that this person is an unproductive worker in the mornings and tends to not exert much energy at his job until he has been employed for over a year.

I once nailed an interview because I submitted my resume with a note that said I could take the ball and run with it. I enclosed both with a ball in a small box. On the ball I wrote my name and phone number.

I’m all for something that stands out from the Times New Roman design with 0.5″ indents, but some of these seem a little extreme. For someone seeking a design position, the idea shouldn’t be to cram as much visual stimuli on one page; it should be to communicate clearly and effectively. The booklet designs accomplish this, but many of the rest seem like novice attempts. If you want a professional position, design yourself the part.

Nice round up. Before ‘over’ designing your resume, you need to make sure it will be well received. Most creative agencies/shops will love it, but you run the risk of it getting panned and the rest of your work won’t matter at that point.

If you are super talented, it really doesn’t matter what it looks like.

“The Writer” Magazine resume. I would have thrown this in the trash if I were the person hiring for this and had even a little bit of design sense. I can’t believe this was included. Yes, the idea is good, but the execution is horrible! I have designed magazines for more than 5 years now and I don’t think even my first was that bad.

I agree with Shane. And I’m surprised more people haven’t also commented about the readability of these designs. When an employer has numerous resumes to *scan* through, a graphically heavy or oddly shaped resume is deadly.

Good design is key for standing out. But strange shapes, colors and textures make storage and handling cumbersome, if not annoying.

A better solution? Focus on readability using typography and color to standout from the crowd.

Want to show off your *graphic* designs on your resume? Display your website address in bold, ultra large type on the page in a unique (but readable) way. This will help your resume stand out from the rest visually while piquing the reader’s interest about your portfolio online. They’ll probably take a look.

Some of these just aren’t very legible and don’t function very well at all. An employer probably spends approx 30 second on a CV- if they can’t read it well, or even have to decipher it, it just going to be put in the bin.

I’ve always been taught to just use clean simple typography, black on white- its a functioning document, it shouldn’t really be used to showcase your design skills- your PDF portfolio should do that…

They all look awesome, but it is in one’s portfolio that I look for awesome and creativity. If your résumé isn’t clean, concise, and all the information easy to find, then it will be the cool résumé that doesn’t get you hired.

Well designed resumes are awesome. I love the infographic style. In fact, I found the Michael Anderson one so inspirational I had a go at doing an infographic CV myself. Was great fun to do. Recommend it to everybody 😉

Terrific samples showing how a resume can demonstrate a candidate’s skills and their potential. Maybe these do not address every thing an employer may need to determine if an individual is a good fit but they each attract attention which is job number one of a resume or career marketing document. These type of inforgraphics are a good way to pique interest, differentiate yourself and show your work- they are not traditional, but chances are that these candidates are not really interested in meeting with prospective employers who can’;t appreciate what these creations represent. I think it is all about show don’t tell and these definitely demonstrate creativity, talent, skills. They are just part of what an employer needs to know about a potential new team member, but IMHO, there is enough information to get a meaningful dialogue started- the goal that I think is the main objective of a resume- not to report but to spike interest and inspire conversation,

Yes, it’s important to consider the job and recipient of your creativity. I just designed an over-the-top 3D resume for a client and paired it with a ‘tame’ version of the information for more conservative employers.

However, I dare to suggest that, if you are bold enough to want to make a wild and stand-out resume, you should use it – and only apply to employers who appreciate that ‘go-big’ quality in you!

“Your playing small doesn’t serve the world. There’s nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you.” ~ Nelson Mandela

These are all very unique and creative ideas! I am partial to the mini-folded and the office inspired resumes. If I were a graphic artist, I would definitely use some of the others, no matter how bold, because they do grab attention. I can’t see myself ever wanting to the use the t-shirt or notebook inspired ones though. Thanks for the post!

Hey craig, just checked out your resume and wanted to let you know that I loved it. Got a pet peave tho. On the bottom left under GOALS you use the words “I GUESS” and “I THINK”. “I GUESS” is wishy washy and “I THINK” is irrelevant because without those words the fact remains “most people at their cores want to do something that matters” stands on its own in the sentence without starting the sentence with “I think”. If you eliminate both “I GUESS” and “I THINK” from your script it will read stronger and give us an impression of you as the leader you are. The other option would be to replace “I THINK” with something more powerful like “I firmly believe”, or “I have found” or “history shows”. Of course it goes without saying that the words “I GUESS” need to be totally removed from the document. Besides my pet peaves i loved it and wanted to offer kudosfor a job well done. You are on the right track and with these simple changes I know that you will really make an impact with what you have created. Blessings on your job hunt

I think these ideas and designs are great. There’s just one thing that bothers me. Everyone who has advised me on creating a resume has stressed to keep it simple. Black or blue New Times Roman font on a white background. Anything other than this is a resume killer unless you’re applying for an extremely creative position.

I was thinking of doing my updated resume as a PowerPoint presentation.

You really have to pick your spots when using untraditional designs. If you have the opportunity to present a resume in person (which is becoming more rare) there may be benefit. Most companies, however, are going to a more automated process where the ATS (Applicant Tracking System) is parsing information off of the resume for recruiters to search. If you use image files, tables, borders, etc… the ATS may not pick up the info and your ‘electronic visibility’ goes down. Pick your spots wisely!

This must be a joke. These all strike me as silly and unprofessional. I’d bet that using a resume like these will eliminate you from consideration from 95% of potential employers. Avoid these ridiculous toy resumes like the plague.

G on the 29th July

Totally true, i’ve seen a lot of resumes go to trash because they cant take them seriously and i agreed

I’m a professional resume writer and am preparing for an industry conference where I will be speaking on creative resume formats. I happened on this site through a web search.

This is definitely a great list of some very creative resumes! I really like many of them (some more than others) and used in the right way with the right employers I have to believe that they would definitely stand out and get attention, and that they would spark enough interest that the employer would definitely pick up the phone and call to schedule an interview. That is, after all, the true test of an effective resume–the quality and quantity of interviews generated.

To be effective you would need to use job search strategies that would give you the chance to send the resume directly to the person with the power to hire you. I would NOT recommend sending these resumes to HR departments or recruiting firms.

The major items these resumes leave out that most effective resumes have are the hiring motivators – the accomplishments that illustrate how they will make the employer money, save them money, save time, solve problems, etc. If these were my clients, I would also recommend that they have a resume prepared in a more traditional format that they could bring with them to interviews and to use in other situations where the creative format was inappropriate. Keep in mind that a traditional resume doesn’t have to be boring, though. Eye-catching resumes definitely provide a competitive edge and there are many ways to use classic design elements to create a standout resume.

I like the concept and really love Donatella’s idea from a few months ago about doing PowerPoint resumes. There are gob of them out there. Check out slideshare.net and type in resumes in the search box. Some of the ones I looked at here are interesting, but cripes, folks, use proper grammar and be sure to spell check your documents. The Flyer has a space before the comma right up front. Proofread!

Anyone whose resume “design” uses Papyrus or an illegible “handwritten” font (both of which are featured here, shame, shame) clearly does not work in graphic design. And shouldn’t, until they learn why they shouldn’t use them.

wow. these are complete crap… this is what terrifies me about our industry. if you think for a second that an over-designed, gimmicky, unprofessional/amateur resume is going to get you in the door. this is nothing but junk and exactly why true professionals throw this waste of time out the door. i want to see what you have done, worked on and your experience. not try and scrap it off some photoshop layer disaster. ok i digress but seriously awful.

Wow now I really feel like an idiot. The resume formats that my career advisors told me and the rest of the participants to do when I was in the empower program were so plain. No wonder I’m not getting hired any where! How does one exactly go to create their own resume design because I don’t know how. Is there a specific website or do I have to get some programs for my computer to do that? I have a mac mini computer just so you all know… Please reply back. I really want to stand out from the crowd. Thanks.

@Krista, I wouldn’t feel stupid just yet – as you can see from the mixed response, non-traditional resumes are far from full acceptance. In fact, most of these examples are really just resumes with less information and more graphics. It’s a very difficult thing to reconcile information with the visual presentation we all have come to expect from EVERYTHING except resumes. We’ve got a new format to check out and we’ve had great positive feedback from HR managers, but the bottom line is: keep it tasteful and relevant, not gimmicky and useless.http://www.nuzume.com/gallery.html

I could’ve used this list of ideas whenever I was still in my University courses for graphic design. We had a project to create a unique resume, and I was aspiring to be a game designer before I found out how ruthless the job market was. I used one of my old Nintendo 64 cartridges and put my initials on the front with a custom-made game sticker that had my information on the back sticker. My professor kept it and shows it to other classes to this day!

Great article! Also, if you’re considering writing your own resume you can view examples of resumes on FreeResumeExamples.net where over 50 professional resume writers have uploaded their resume examples to view and download.

Wow! I love the Tshirt idea. that would be an awesome company photo grouping.
all individual photos of staff with their skills and awards listed on their shirt.

I like that it is on her back for two reasons:
1. would be tacky on the front..kind of like those “made you look tshirts:
2. on the back is a great metaphor for all the work she did in her past to be where she is today.

It seems to be a good trend to have now. Yes, a picture is worth thousand words. I also stumbled on a new site called http://www.pictocv.com. It is very promising to see these new companies coming up with creative ideas.

It is most important to see proper use of information visualization techniques. It may not be useful to create a graphic just for the heck of it. It should be able to tell a story with ample oomph.

For all the people commenting about how this is too much, resumes are supposed to be simple, and so one, you’re right – to a point. For at least 95% of people, these kinds of things are a terrible idea, because whatever your prospective job is, it probably involves being able to express things clearly and succinctly in writing, without dealing with distractions.

For graphic designers and related professions, on the other hand, the most important thing is to be catchy and aesthetically appealing. A standard black-on-white three section CV might summarize your life’s work in greater depth than any of these, but the old adage of “show, don’t tell applies”: it’s easy to say you’re a good designer, but if you’re really a good designer, why not just prove it? If your CV shows good mastery of design principles and an aesthetic intuition, precisely whom you’ve worked for doesn’t matter much. In fact, since so much advertising is about distracting people from the facts rather than highlighting them, the ability to present information in a way that is ambiguous, unclear, or just plain liable to be ignored might even be desirable.

I guess this is a really old article but as it continues to be relevant so…

I think it’s useful for certain careers, graphic designer being probably the most relevant, however so many jobs i’ve applied for don’t even allow a graphic resume, you upload it into a profile where it seperates all the info then sends it on, so your hard work is wasted. For a graphic designer, or artist, this is another way of presenting your skills, since they don’t always translate well into words, but if you need to hire someone to make your creative resume, then you’re probably not applying for a job where it is helpful. Ease of reading is still a consideration, especially if the design is not direction related to your career.

These designs are really good especially the folded version. You might also want to checkout some creative resume template designs here: http://www.creative-resume-templates.com I’m sure you’ll love the layouts that you’re going to find from this site!

All of the resume formats posted in article are really impressive for employers and makes resume stand apart from other candidates. But I think still there are some recruiters those who are following the way of accepting traditional styled resumes. I think this mindset should be changed. Accepting resumes from job seekers in various types styles could also be a way to judge creativity of candidate.